Wesleyan shooting suspect pleads not guilty

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, June 8, 2009

MIDDLETOWN

Associated Press

A man accused of shooting a Wesleyan University student to death last month pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and two new charges added by state prosecutors.

Stephen Morgan, 29, also waived his right to have a preliminary hearing to contest the evidence during his appearance in Middletown Superior Court. He is accused of killing Johanna Justin-Jinich, 21, of Timnath, Colo., inside a bookstore cafe near the Middletown campus on May 6.

Morgan was charged with murder two days after the killing when he surrendered to police in Meriden. Prosecutors on Tuesday added new charges of intimidation based on bigotry or bias and carrying a pistol without a permit.

Middletown police said they found writings by Morgan threatening to kill Justin-Jinich and other Jewish students at Wesleyan. The threats put the local Jewish community on edge for two days until the arrest.

Morgan, who had been living with his family in Marblehead, Mass., wore a green prison jumpsuit and his arms and legs were shackled in court Tuesday.

He spoke in public for the first time since the killing, telling the judge in a soft voice that he understood what it meant to waive his right to a probable cause hearing.

His lawyer, Richard Brown, said the new charges were not a surprise, and were trivial compared with the murder charge.

He declined to say whether he will pursue a defense of mental disease or defect.

Members of Justin-Jinich's family were also in the courtroom. They declined to comment.

State's Attorney Timothy Liston declined to be specific when asked about the new charges.

"After reviewing the information we had, we thought it appropriate to add additional counts," Liston said.

Morgan remains held in lieu of bond and is due back in court on Aug. 5 for pretrial discussions.

Authorities say Morgan and Justin-Jinich knew each other since at least 2007, when Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint against him while they were enrolled in a summer class at New York University.

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The complaint said Morgan had called her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails. No criminal charges were filed.